IATA audit team arrives in Pakistan on week-long inspection visit

A four-member team of the International Air Transport Associations (IATA) Operational Safety Audit team arrived in Pakistan on a week-long audit inspection visit.

On Monday, the team will start an operational safety audit of different departments of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), including flight operation, safety and security, passenger service and engineering, reports Dawn news.

According to sources, the team will spend most of its time in Karachi and is likely to visit the crash site of PIA flight PK-8303 and interview people related to flight operation and engineering.

It will also check the measures adopted by the airline to maintain safety and security of its operation on the ground and in the air.

The operational safety audit is carried out every two years, with the last audit conducted in 2018.

Prior to the team's visit, the PIA management made necessary preparations and removed inoperable aircraft and equipment from the apron of Karachi's Jinnah International Air­port and also covered the debris of the PIA plane A320 that crashed into a residential area in the city on May 22.

According to an initial report, the disaster was a result of human error, which resulted in the death of 97 people. Only two passengers survived, Dawn news reported.

The audit team will be briefed on PIA's fleet, which comprises Airbus A320, ATR and Boeing 777, and the aircrafts' condition.

--IANS

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